Mountain Top Views

Today was one of those days where you are forced to go through loss and grief. My wife and I had the brutal decision to put our dog Luke down.

I remember the day I got Luke. In 1999 a friend referred me to a breeder up at Moose Head Lake Maine! I took the 3 hour drive and was introduced to a 6 week litter of black and chocolate labs. My friend's advise was specific; "You don't pick the dog, you let the dog pick you". That's exactly what happened. This small black lab, then named Hercules, with paws so much bigger than all the other dogs, walked right up to me and started biting my finger. A relationship was born! Its a funny thing, A relationship between a man and his dog! Always there, unconditional and unbelievably loyal! Luke has been with my wife and I through thick and thin! Unconditionally loyal!

The drive to the vet today was the hardest part. Most days I despise the 30 minutes to my destination! Gas costs, time management and traffic are always present. It was amazing to me today as I made the drive how I wished time would slow. Knowing that my destination was not just getting me to a physical place, but his life would end as well. On days like today, perception gets put into perspective real quick. Today made me realize how often we all tend to get caught up in life's day to day operations and we are not fully aware of everything we have in our life that is good and simple. It takes an everyday ride with a simple destination to realize that life sometimes is not all that simple and comfortable. All mountain top views must have a valley below. I am really bummed that Luke is gone and that the times we had are in the past. Right now I don't think I will ever get another black lab, but time is said to heal the wounds of the heart. Guess we will wait to see. Until then I will remember the blessings of the last 15 years and how my life was better with him in it. I know he was just a dog, but he was MY dog and missed already!

Lets make sure we all remember take a moment and realize that without health, positive relationships and love, we are just robots running on the hamster wheel of life. Focus on creating mountain top views everyday, so when we are in life's valleys we will have a map to help motivate us to get back to the beauty of the mountain top.